Chapter 247 Self-Determination

Zhao Ding's rise to power was both unexpected and reasonable.

The so-called reasonable refers to Zhao Ding's own qualifications, official position, and age, which are all very confident. As the oldest of the few people who fled to the Imperial College during the Jing Kang period (Zhao Ding, Zhang Jun, and Hu Yin), Zhao Yuanzhen was already one of the first confidants of Emperor Zhao in Huaishang, and he was promoted to the transport envoy of the two routes in Huainan at an early stage, becoming one of the local officials... This position is basically second only to a few envoys and ministers.

In fact, taking into account Lu Yihao's unscrupulousness and the sudden retirement of Xu Jingheng, as well as the fact that Li Gang was once again being put on hold by the emperor, and potential candidates for the emperor's confidants such as Hu Yin, Liu Ziyu, and Xiaolin Xue Shi being left in Guanxi, everyone realized at that time that among the three prime ministers, there must be a position for Zhao Ding of Huainan.

But, as the saying goes, the unexpected happens.

It was obvious that Emperor Zhao wanted to serve his relatives, and the person he used had to at least be related to Emperor Zhao's ascension to the throne, that is, the so-called "emperor's confidant". From this perspective, Zhang Jun's personal relationship with Emperor Zhao was undoubtedly much closer than Zhao Ding's... Therefore, the night before, many people believed that Zhang Jun would be the prime minister of the capital, and Zhao Ding would be the privy councilor or even the deputy prime minister. However, they did not expect that Zhao Ding, who had said nothing and was thousands of miles away, would be the leader in the end.

Of course, for a smart man like Wanqi Xie, even if he didn't know that there was a little brother Hu Yin who had inserted a thread between the two 'Imperial College brothers', he still had some guesses - no matter what, the government needed a prime minister who was capable and had rich grassroots experience. Before, it was Xu Jingheng, and now it is naturally Zhao Ding.

As for Liu Ji, to be honest, in the abnormal situation before, no one could be sure whether he was a real or fake official. Moreover, in terms of relationship, this Liu Xianggong was a little distant from the government. Relatively speaking, Zhao Ding, who had been in the government's eyes for settling refugees from Huaibei in Huainan and had worked diligently in Huainan for several years to ensure the supply of financial tribute, seemed much more reliable.

To put it nicely, this kind of thing is because Emperor Zhao puts public affairs first and appoints people based on their merits. To put it bluntly, Emperor Zhao has no experience and is feeling guilty!

Of course, it’s a good thing after all… Can it be a bad thing if the leader doesn’t use his confidants indiscriminately?

"Who is the Goryeo envoy?"

There was no military parade or ceremony this time. The last imperial camp troops simply stopped at Yuetai in the west of the city. Zhao Jiu simply led the imperial camp squad straight into the city. After entering the city, without having time to rest in the harem, the emperor gathered all the officials in Wende Hall and asked them about the previous matters in the city.

Lu Haowen was already old and had always been quiet. After he was promoted to prime minister, he became more calm than before, whether he was pretending or really, and he just stood there in silence when he heard the words, without saying a word.

Soon, seeing that the minister Lü Haowen, the newly arrived Privy Councilor Zhang Jun, and the co-director of the Privy Council Chen Gui were speechless, the Minister of Rites Zhu Shengfei stepped forward and bowed to them, "Your Majesty, the servant here is Zheng Zhichang, a Hanlin scholar in Goryeo who is good at writing imperial edicts...I wonder if Your Majesty wants to summon him? When will he be summoned?"

"Isn't he Kim Bu-sik?" Zhao Jiu frowned slightly in the throne. "Is this person in Goryeo from the Kaesong Yangban or the Pyongyang Yangban? Is he for war or peace with Kim?"

Zhu Shengfei was speechless for a moment. After a moment of silence, he cupped his hands and said, "Let the emperor know that this man has always been accompanied by Wang Lun, the Junior Secretary of the Honglu Temple. He really doesn't know the so-called Kaijing Yangban and Pyongyang Yangban officials. But when the emperor won a great victory before, he hurried over by sea and wrote poems praising the emperor's might. The poems are really good... I think he should be the one who is fighting against Jin."

This answer was obviously wrong, but as the Minister of Rites, Zhao Jiu knew that this level was already qualified, so he did not pursue it. Instead, he nodded, and then directly asked on the throne: "Where is Wang Lun?"

Wang Lun, the Junior Minister of the Honglu Temple, who had been prepared, stepped out immediately, bowed his head and responded swiftly: "Your Majesty, this man belongs to the Western Capital Liangban, and is a member of the Myo-Ching Monk's party. He has always advocated war and is Myo-Ching Monk's official ally in the Goryeo court. He is one of Kim Bu-sik's biggest political enemies in Goryeo..."

At this point, Wang Lun paused for a moment, then added carefully: "This man and Jin Bu Shi are not only political enemies, but also rivals in the Goryeo literary world. They have deep public and private grudges against each other."

"Something is still wrong." Zhao Jiu frowned more and more. "Last time you said that Jin Bushi was determined to do big things. He followed Song when Song was strong and Jin when Jin was strong. He watched and adjusted in time when there was a slight change. On the contrary, Xijing Miaoqing monk's party was not clear-headed. They intended to expand the power of Xijing Pyongyang Yangban by attacking Jin, so they advocated war against Jin... Then why did Zheng Zhichang, since he is a member of Miaoqing monk's party, also come to "do big things"?"

"So that the emperor knows." Wang Lun explained quickly. "Zheng Zhichang is a serious civil official. He formed a party with Monk Miaoqing because they both took Pyongyang, the Western Capital of Goryeo, as their base and opposed the two classes in Kaesong. It is impossible for them not to be in the same party, but when it comes to specific opinions, they still have different opinions..."

At this point, not only did Zhao Jiu understand, even the Song officials in the palace who had experienced decades of struggle between the new and old parties suddenly realized it.

"I understand." Zhao Jiu smiled. "This is a man who was dragged into advocating war because of political struggles. He advocates war only because Jin Bu Shi does not advocate war... But in this case, this man is both a big shot and a war advocate. Isn't he more beneficial to us than Jin Bu Shi?"

Wang Lun hesitated for a moment, but still said cautiously: "Your Majesty, this man and Jin Bushi have always had some rumors in Goryeo..."

Zhao Jiu laughed even more: "Just say whatever you want to say, whatever you want to say?"

"It is said that Jin Bushi gave himself this name because he admired the scholar Dasu, but his conduct as an official was very similar to that of King Shu. Zheng Zhichang had endless factional disputes with him, but he was not like Sima Wengong, but more like the scholar Dasu..."

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